Unanswered Prayers
by obsessedwithstabler
Summary: Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers... AU.


I've always wanted to do a story for this song, and I finally sat down and did it! Yay! The song is Garth Brook's beautiful song, Unanswered Prayers, and it's an AU story, so be warned. Enjoy, and please remember to review!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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Elliot Stabler laughed as he held his wife to his side and kissed her head. He still didn't know how he'd managed to drag her to a football game, but he guessed that the promise of a foot rub and a candlelight dinner afterward had helped to persuade her. "I promise, it won't last the whole night."

"How do you know?" She shivered and snuggled closer to him.

"Because it's a football game, not a telathon," he said with a teasing chuckle. "It may last three or four hours, but that's it."

"Three or four hours? I'm getting popcorn."

He ran his hand over her side. "Not too much," he chastised. "We're having a nice dinner when we get home."

She snorted. "A nice dinner is one without children, and that's not going to happen."

"I can probably convince them to leave us alone."

"Maybe if you bribe them with ice cream. Then they'll be up the rest of the night."

"Then we slip a little Nyquil into the ice cream."

She snorted and playfully slapped his hand, shaking her head. "Elliot!"

He laughed, hugging her tight.

"Elliot? Elliot Stabler?"

Elliot turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice, and was surprised to see his high school sweetheart approach them. "Kathy...?"

The blond woman came closer, smiling sweetly. "Yeah, it's me."

Olivia looked at Kathy, then at Elliot curiously.

Elliot cleared his throat. "Liv, this is my ex girlfriend, Kathy Williams. Kathy, this is my wife, Olivia."

Olivia smiled at Kathy, who returned the smile nervously.

As he introduced them, he couldn't help but think about the past, and the path his life had taken since high school.

_Just the other night _

_At a hometown football game _

_My wife and I ran into _

_My old high school flame _

_And as I introduced them _

_The past came back to me _

_And I couldn't help but think of _

_The way things used to be_

When he was in high school, Kathy was the girl he was certain that he wanted for his entire life. He was the senior quarterback on the football team, and she was a junior cheerleader who had transferred to his school.

He had spent so many nights praying that God would make her his. And if he only would, he'd never ask for anything again the rest of his life.

Then one day he finally summoned up the strength to ask her out, and she said yes. And it went well, until one night she came to him with a pregnancy test and tears in her eyes.

As they waited for the results of the test, all he could think about was if it was positive, his life was over. He was Catholic, and his religion commanded him to marry her if she was carrying his child. But he wasn't ready for marriage. Or a kid, for that matter.

Then the test proved to be negative, and less than a week later, they broke up.

His heart was broken when Kathy broke up with him, but he understood it. There were things that they both wanted to do before either of them were married or saddled with kids. And at his graduation a month later, they had said their goodbyes before he left to join the Marines.

_She was the one _

_That I had wanted for all time _

_And each night I'd spend praying _

_That God would make her mine _

_And if He'd only grant me _

_This wish I wished back then _

_I'd never ask _

_For anything again_

_Sometimes I thank God _

_For unanswered prayers _

_Remember when you're talking _

_To the Man of the stairs _

_And just because He doesn't answer _

_Doesn't mean He don't care _

_Some of God's greatest gifts _

_Are unanswered prayers_

Suddenly he was jerked back into the present, and he studied Kathy.

She wasn't quite the same angel that he remembered in his mind. Time had changed her from the young, bright eyed woman into a quiet, refined woman he barely recognized.

She smiled at him, absently kicking at the dirt beneath her feet. "So... how have you been?"

He smiled back at her, hugging Olivia tighter. "Great. Great..." He cleared his throat. "Did you... ever get that journalism job you wanted?"

She shrugged. "I had it, but I gave it up." She looked him over. "I take it you never made it to the NFL."

Elliot laughed softly, shaking his head. "No... Actually, after I got out of the Marines, I went to the police academy and became a cop." He gave his wife a gentle squeeze. "That's... actually how I met Liv."

Olivia looked up at him with a warm smile, then at Kathy. "He nearly ran me over when I was trying to cross the street to get to work."

He tapped her nose. "Hey! You know I didn't mean to..." He kissed her forehead, then looked at Kathy. He could see himself reflected back, and how much he had changed from that all star football player years ago.

Kathy nodded. "You never were a very good driver."

"I was better than most people!"

Olivia snickered. "And that's exactly why I do all the driving."

"That's just what I let you think."

A man came up behind Kathy and wrapped his arms around her. "Kath, babe, the game is about to start," he rumbled, glancing at Elliot.

She nodded and looked at her old flame. "Well, it was good to see you again, Elliot." She smiled at Olivia. "And it was nice to meet you."

Olivia nodded. "Nice to meet you, too, Kathy."

_She wasn't quite the angel _

_That I remembered in my dreams _

_And I could tell that time had changed me _

_In her eyes too, it seemed _

_We tried to talk about the old days _

_There wasn't much we could recall _

_I guess the Lord knows what He's doing _

_After all_

As the two walked away, Elliot looked down at his wife, and an incredible swell of emotions rose within him. "I love you, Liv," he murmured, drawing her into a warm hug and kissing her softly.

She happily snuggled into him. "I love you, too, El."

He kissed the top of her head, sighing contently. "What do you say we forget about the game, and I show you a good time tonight?"

She looked up at him suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

He laughed and held her closer, running his fingers through her thick, dark hair. "I'm very sure, Liv."

She nuzzled his neck with her nose. "Dinner and a movie?"

"Sounds perfect." He pulled back and kissed her softly, wondering at the fact that after all these years, she still had the ability to do this to him.

Slowly she pulled back, licking her lips. "I'm looking forward to what's after dinner."

He kissed her nose. "Yeah, me, too. Sleep."

She playfully slapped his chest and turned around, playfully storming off.

"Oh, no you don't..." He ran up behind her and threw his arms around her, lifting her into his arms with ease. "You, Mrs. Stabler, are coming to dinner with me."

"And what if I don't want to?"

"Then you'll starve."

She pretended to look horrified. "You'd let me starve?"

He shrugged as he carried her toward the car. "Sure."

She rolled her eyes. "Then who would cook your dinner?"

He gave her a faux worried look. "Well, then I guess I'd better keep you around, huh?" he asked, setting her on the ground and opening the door for her.

"You better." She started to climb into her seat.

Before she could climb in, he suddenly grabbed her arm and spun her around, pulling her into his arms. Then he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. As she slid her arms around his neck, he thanked God again for not answering the prayer that he once thought was all he wanted.

If He had given Elliot Kathy, he wouldn't be standing where he was, holding the love of his life and being a father to his four beautiful children. And he couldn't imagine his life without any of them.

_And as she walked away _

_I looked at my wife _

_And then and there I thanked the good Lord _

_For the gifts in my life_

They finally pulled apart, and she winked at him before climbing into the passenger's side of their SUV.

He closed the door for her, then turned around and looked at his old high school. At one time he had thought there would be nothing more important than what went on inside of those walls. Now he knew that he had been very wrong.

Now he knew that his wife and their children were the most important things in his life, and nothing could ever change that. Not what had once been, and not what could have been. He glanced up at the night time sky.

"Thank you, God," he murmured, closing his eyes for a moment. "Thank you for Olivia, and my kids."

There was nothing else he could ask for, except that they would always be happy, in whatever they did.

He finally opened his eyes, smiling contently.

Olivia opened her door. "El? You okay?" she asked, concerned.

He turned around and looked at her, smiling tenderly. "I'm fine, baby." No, he was better than fine. His life was perfect, and he couldn't wait to show Olivia and their kids just what they meant to him.

She smiled brightly at him in return. "Then come on. I'm starving."

He laughed and nodded, carefully closing her door again and walking around to the driver's side. As he opened the door and climbed in, Olivia reached out and took his hand.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

_Sometimes I thank God _

_For unanswered prayers _

_Remember when you're talking _

_ To the Man of the stairs _

_And just because He may not answer _

_Doesn't mean He don't care _

_Some of God's greatest gifts _

_Are unanswered _

_Some of God's greatest gifts _

_Are all too often unanswered_

He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it softly. "Never better," he murmured.

She squeezed his hand lightly and leaned over to kiss him. "Good."

He watched her for a moment before starting the car. "Liv?"

"Yeah, El?"

He looked at her and smiled contently. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She reached out and rested her hand on his leg, squeezing gently.

Slowly he guided the car out of the parking lot, and again he thanked God for Olivia, their kids, and the path his life had taken.

_Some of God's greatest gifts _

_Are unanswered prayers_

The End

A/N: Hehehe, yay EO! Obviously none of us can say what he'd be like if those things had been changed, but this is fanfiction, and it was just something I always wanted to do. I really hoped everyone enjoyed it, and please remember to review! Thanks for reading!


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